Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Lush are well known for their animal and eco friendly approach to make-up, hair and skin care, and are passionate about animal welfare not only in their products but other brands' too, leading to the ban of animal tested products on cosmetics within the EU (well done, guys!!) Most of their products look good enough to eat, so I decided to pick up one that actually is, in the form of one of their Lip Scrubs!

What to look for in store! This and all the other lip scrubs from Lush retail
at £5.25

What the product looks like!

The Popcorn flavour was originally made for seasonal release at Christmas time, but it has been so popular it's landed itself a place in the permanent collection! With the weather in the UK being so temperamental at the moment (well, it always is) my lips always seem to take a bit of a battering! I've found with this product that if you eat too much (you will be tempted to, believe me!) you do feel a tad queezy because let's face it, there is a lot of sugar salt in this wee tub. But once you've found the right amount to use for you, giving it a good rub and licking off the delicious excess is a breeze! like leaves your lips looking and feeling super soft and tasting delicious. I tend to follow up with a balm afterwards to prolong that smooth feeling, but it will work fine on it's own. What I will say about this product is, that once you've started using it, you'll find it hard to stop! I think this is the type of thing that once you've used it, you can never look back, which could be taken either way, but I like the way my lips feel after using this so in my book this is a good thing!!

Although this pot is small, it will last a lifetime (that is a slight exaggeration, but it will last you a long time for sure) It's aso super sweet and yummy and effective. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that after food if I've wanted a dessert, I've merrily substituted this little fella in, it's so delicious!! After this beauty has gone, I plan to get the Mint Julips flavour which I think will work fabulously in a nighttime routine!!

Sunday, 28 April 2013

Working as a barista means I don't usually get the opportunity to paint my nails and reap the rewards for very long, however I saw BeautyCrush mention this shade on her channel and I just had to have it. I also don't usually invest in nail varnishes but I thought I would take the plunge and spend £7.99 on this divine colour. I feel it is super similar to Chanel's Rouge Noir which I've worn before and loved.

A 13.5ml bottle retails at £7.99

A close up to show the shade number which is 49

Whilst applying this nail varnish, I instantly noticed the difference in quality compared to the drugstore polishes I'm used to using, the consistency and the brush made the product sort of glide on and within two coats it was nice and opaque. I also noticed it dried fairly quickly which is fantastic because another big reason I don't paint my nails very often is I find it hard to sit and let them dry and it usually ends up a fluffy molten mush on the end of my nails and that's hardly a good look, but I didn't get that with this at all, as soon as I did the light touch with my finger (which usually leaves a fingerprint...) I found to my surprise I was good to go and carry on with my day. The colour itself is a blacky browny purpley colour and is perfect to help express your inner vamp. I think it looks nice and elegant on my pale child-like hands and has just the right amount of shine to it. Currently I don't have a base/top coat (maybe I should invest in Nails Inc.'s Kensington Caviar like Emma did!) so I've just seen how the long this polish lasts without the aid of a top coat, and I have to say it fairs very well indeed! With some drugstore nail varnishes I find that within a day or so the majority of it has flaked off, but after the best part of week I've only just seen it to start to chip away, although if I'm honest, I feel that with this colour you can get away with it looking slightly chipped for a slightly less clean cut look.

I used 2 coats on my nails here. Look how the shade changes in different lighting!

From a girl whose nail varnish collection is red, black and reddy black, I'm loving this colour. Is it red? Is it black? Is it brown? Even now I couldn't tell you, but I can tell you this will be frequenting my nails very often indeed. Am I going to rush out and buy Essie's entire collection now? No probably not (have you seen how many shades of off white they do? Ridiculous.) BUT I think I will be shelling out for a few more shades (and from my previous statement, that will be a red and a black.) because I've found that with Essie you're certainly paying for what you get, and that is a good quality nail varnish. Glossybox this month are featuring a full sized Essie polish within their box, so if you're feeling adventurous you could snap that up with four other beauty samples. Check out Emma's review of this month's box here!!

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Like William the Conquer in 1066, the almighty French brand that is Bioderma is hitting our shores this spring, so instead of making a 70 metre long tapestry to celebrate I though I'd review the famed, and loved Crealine H20 make-up remover!

What the bottle looks like. The product looks just like water!

When my parents told me they were setting off for a romantic getaway to Paris, I begged them to pick me up a bottle of this beloved beauty staple. Although already available on websites such as amazon, the price tag in it's native country is a fraction of the price (my parents paid around 15€ for a 500ml bottle, thanks parents!!) and I have used it more or less everyday since. This product feels like water, smells of nothing, but gets all of your make-up off. I mean all of it. It is only since using Bioderma that I have realised how I never really used to get all my make-up off, and now my skin is much clearer than it used to be. This stuff is great for both eye and face make-up, getting rid of all traces, it leaves your face feeling nice and refreshed which is something I love after a day (or night) with a face full of make-up (rubbing my eyes after a day of not being able to is the best feeling in the world!) As I mentioned before I've been using this every day (somedays more than once!) for over a month and I've barely used any, and can see this bottle alone lasting me around 6 months, which I think is fantastic for a make-up remover (that works out to 2.50€ a month!!) which I think is very reasonable indeed! (Although I believe the conversion rate is a little whacky with the 250ml bottles pricing at around £10) I guess if I had to say was a flaw with the product it's the size of the bottle meaning it's a bit of a pain to travel with, although I know you can get a range of sizes to suit every situation so I just need to get me a travel sized one!!

I think this product is a must-have staple for every single girl, especially those having issues with clogged up skin. I got the standard formulation, but I've heard the Sebium formulation is better tailored to oily skin, so who knows maybe I'll be even more impressed when I finish up this bottle and try out that one! I'm sure shops will have scenes like those from the Battle of Hastings fighting to get their hands on this cult product, and I won't blame you for battling for your own bottle, and with other products from the brand on my very long 'to buy' list such as the Sebium cleasing gel, I may well be joining you! Bioderma should be available in leading pharmacies soon and is available on Escentual.com now.

I tend to use a scrub 2-3 times a week, and I try to use one before shaving my legs. This one is perfect to use before shaving as it buffs away any dead bits of skin and really preps your skin before you shave. I've also found that this product is fab to use in a uni halls environment. Halls showers are gross and small at the best of times and it is hard to have a luxurious experience in them. This scrub is quick and easy to apply and once in the shower it lathers slightly so you can on buffing to get optimum results . It leaves your skin feeling like new skin, all fresh and lovely!! The scent of this scrub also compliments Soap & Glory's 'Clean On Me' shower gel and 'The Righteous Butter' body butter, a serious triple threat of products!!

I would seriously recommend this scrub! It gives me everything I want and more, I also love that it compliments other products by S&G fabulously, keeping my soft and smelling amazing! I have recently acquired the Sugar Crush Scrub by S&G, which smells divine, but has a very hard act to follow!!